Navy Admiral: ‘The Forces of Darkness Are Among Us’

 

“Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
Step out of line, the men come and take you away”
— Buffalo Springfield “For What It’s Worth”

This morning as I was browsing my morning newsfeed from Military.Com, an item from the Navy side of the house caught my eye. Under the headline of “Navy says ‘liking’ or sharing extremists’ posts on social media can get you in trouble,” the Chief of Naval Personnel, Vice Admiral John Nowell, was quoted: “You may not personally know any shipmates with extremist beliefs, but I assure you that those forces of darkness are among us.”

I actually pushed my notepad back from me and tried to contemplate what I was reading. “Forces of Darkness?” What in the h*ll was he talking about? Are members of our Armed Forces somehow being possessed by supernatural powers? Will some of them have heads that spin 360 degrees? (Which, come to think of it, might come in handy while standing watch.)

Perhaps the good Admiral was thinking along the lines of something like Invasion of the Body Snatchers in which previously squared-away sailors are now being replaced by beings from giant seed pods. Could the Admiral possibly be suffering from Capgras Delusion?

Perhaps I’m being a bit facetious, but when I see senior officers (those with stars on their shoulders) making outlandish statements such as this, I have to wonder (as I have in previous posts), if common sense has departed the military. In addition, I find myself thinking the unthinkable; Have they forgotten who our enemies truly are?

But, as the TV commercials say; wait, there’s more. On the SecDef’s mandated “stand-down” day, all Navy personnel will have to repeat their oath of enlistment (or office) and “discuss what actions betray that promise.” (I suspect that all branches of the military will follow suit.)

For those of you who haven’t been in the military, the oath of enlistment is a fairly serious deal that occurs only during the initial enlistment and subsequent reenlistments. It’s not meant to be trotted out as a bit of cheap theater, but, in today’s military, nothing is off-limits. The traditions that we knew (across all the services) are now empty shells; anachronisms from another era that do not belong in today’s “woke” military.

When I was still on active duty, I recall an Air Force general who said, “I have lived my life and led my career with the abiding belief that when each of us who wear this uniform or choose to defend this nation are called, we will do the right thing.” Now, we have military “leaders” who do not even trust those in the ranks; by their own actions, sow discord throughout their commands. These “leaders” are no longer capable of knowing what the “right thing” entails. Sadly, they do not belong in our military.

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  1. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    The only thing maintaining world order right now is the obvious overwhelming superiority of the American military, the stability and unity of American society, and the strength of the American economy.

    Democrats – an American political party – are making real headway into irreversibly damaging all three.  No foreign enemy could have accomplished any of this.

    Our allies must be looking for backup plans in case we can’t help them any more.

    Our enemies must be licking their chops…  

    • #1
  2. CACrabtree Coolidge
    CACrabtree
    @CACrabtree

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    The only thing maintaining world order right now is the obvious overwhelming superiority of the American military, the stability and unity of American society, and the strength of the American economy.

    Democrats – an American political party – are making real headway into irreversibly damaging all three. No foreign enemy could have accomplished any of this.

    Our allies must be looking for backup plans in case we can’t help them any more.

    Our enemies must be licking their chops…

    Indeed.  I saw this morning, at Defense One, that 16 countries had signed memorandums of understanding on projects related to China’s “Digital Silk Road” initiative.  This was in addition to China’s work with 137 other countries worldwide.  

    And we do nothing…

    • #2
  3. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    Stalin’s purges of the Soviet military prior to WW2 left the USSR devoid of competent leadership when the Nazi’s invaded.   Had it not been for the relentless, ruthless defense mounted by “General Winter” the world might be a very different place today.    Don’t they teach military history anymore?   

    • #3
  4. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    CACrabtree: When I was still on active duty, I recall an Air Force general who said, “I have lived my life and led my career with the abiding belief that when each of us who wear this uniform or choose to defend this nation are called, we will do the right thing.” Now, we have military “leaders” who do not even trust those in the ranks; and, by their own actions, sew discord throughout their commands. These “leaders” are no longer capable of knowing what the “right thing” entails. Sadly, they do not belong in our military.

    I don’t know whether I find the Left more frightening or our own military. 

    • #4
  5. CACrabtree Coolidge
    CACrabtree
    @CACrabtree

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    CACrabtree: When I was still on active duty, I recall an Air Force general who said, “I have lived my life and led my career with the abiding belief that when each of us who wear this uniform or choose to defend this nation are called, we will do the right thing.” Now, we have military “leaders” who do not even trust those in the ranks; and, by their own actions, sew discord throughout their commands. These “leaders” are no longer capable of knowing what the “right thing” entails. Sadly, they do not belong in our military.

    I don’t know whether I find the Left more frightening or our own military.

    I suspect that it’s going to have a very negative effect on recruiting; especially those young men (and I’m not denigrating women at all) who want to go into the Combat Arms parts of our Military.  They’re the warriors who truly relish being at the “tip of the spear”.  

    When the “warrior ethos” disappears from our Military, then why be a part of it?

    • #5
  6. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    CACrabtree: When I was still on active duty, I recall an Air Force general who said, “I have lived my life and led my career with the abiding belief that when each of us who wear this uniform or choose to defend this nation are called, we will do the right thing.” Now, we have military “leaders” who do not even trust those in the ranks; and, by their own actions, sew discord throughout their commands. These “leaders” are no longer capable of knowing what the “right thing” entails. Sadly, they do not belong in our military.

    I don’t know whether I find the Left more frightening or our own military.

    I suspect that it’s going to have a very negative effect on recruiting; especially those young men (and I’m not denigrating women at all) who want to go into the Combat Arms parts of our Military. They’re the warriors who truly relish being at the “tip of the spear”.

    When the “warrior ethos” disappears from our Military, then why be a part of it?

    It makes me think that if a cop doesn’t want to take on the toughest jobs, he ought to be a crossing guard.

    • #6
  7. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    CACrabtree (View Comment):
    When the “warrior ethos” disappears from our Military, then why be a part of it?

    And then, the only people who apply are the ones who are no help in a war.  Yikes.

    • #7
  8. CACrabtree Coolidge
    CACrabtree
    @CACrabtree

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    Stalin’s purges of the Soviet military prior to WW2 left the USSR devoid of competent leadership when the Nazi’s invaded. Had it not been for the relentless, ruthless defense mounted by “General Winter” the world might be a very different place today. Don’t they teach military history anymore?

    Actually, very little.  Almost all the outstanding military history writing is being done by non-academics.  With the exception of The Michigan War Studies Review and academics such as Rob Citino (who I believe is presently at North Texas State), the shelves are pretty bare of true scholarship at our universities.

    I suppose many college students really did believe John Kerry when he told a group of them, “…if you make an effort to be smart, you can do well.  If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq”; the implication being that military folks were just a bunch of (in Rush Limbaugh’s words) “uneducated rubes”.

    • #8
  9. CACrabtree Coolidge
    CACrabtree
    @CACrabtree

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    CACrabtree (View Comment):
    When the “warrior ethos” disappears from our Military, then why be a part of it?

    And then, the only people who apply are the ones who are no help in a war. Yikes.

    Exactly.  I don’t think very many wars have been won with a force of REMFs…

    • #9
  10. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    CACrabtree (View Comment):
    When the “warrior ethos” disappears from our Military, then why be a part of it?

    And then, the only people who apply are the ones who are no help in a war. Yikes.

    Exactly. I don’t think very many wars have been won with a force of REMFs…

    Yeah – at some point you need some tough guys to go shoot people.  The military needs cooks, bookkeepers, carpenters, mechanics, IT guys, and so on.  But it really needs some tough guys who shoot people.  If you can’t get those guys, then none of the others matter.

    • #10
  11. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    CACrabtree: When I was still on active duty, I recall an Air Force general who said, “I have lived my life and led my career with the abiding belief that when each of us who wear this uniform or choose to defend this nation are called, we will do the right thing.” Now, we have military “leaders” who do not even trust those in the ranks; and, by their own actions, sew discord throughout their commands. These “leaders” are no longer capable of knowing what the “right thing” entails. Sadly, they do not belong in our military.

    I don’t know whether I find the Left more frightening or our own military.

    I suspect that it’s going to have a very negative effect on recruiting; especially those young men (and I’m not denigrating women at all) who want to go into the Combat Arms parts of our Military. They’re the warriors who truly relish being at the “tip of the spear”.

    When the “warrior ethos” disappears from our Military, then why be a part of it?

    I seem to recall several years (maybe 1990s) during which the Marines was the only military branch that met its recruiting targets. That success was generally attributed to the Marines being the  branch clearest  its messaging about its fighting mission. 

    • #11
  12. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    When Lt General Honore stipulates that he will promote the desires of the Biden Administration to strip the military of those who are White Supremacist, and when you tie that fact into the realization that  anyone who supported Trump in any way, no matter how minor, is considered a White Supremacist, it could be game over.

    Add to that how the Left always eats their own, and it is definitely game over.

     

    • #12
  13. Al Sparks Coolidge
    Al Sparks
    @AlSparks

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    I seem to recall several years (maybe 1990s) during which the Marines was the only military branch that met its recruiting targets. That success was generally attributed to the Marines being the branch clearest its messaging about its fighting mission. 

    Perhaps he watched this Marine recruiting ad.  It seems very “forces of darkness” like.

    • #13
  14. Al Sparks Coolidge
    Al Sparks
    @AlSparks

    CACrabtree:

    But, as the TV commercials say; wait, there’s more. On the SecDef’s mandated “stand-down” day, all Navy personnel will have to repeat their oath of enlistment (or office) and “discuss what actions betray that promise.” (I suspect that all branches of the military will follow suit.)

    If I were still in, I would resent this.

    • #14
  15. Arthur Beare Member
    Arthur Beare
    @ArthurBeare

    Al Sparks (View Comment):

    If I were still in, I would resent this.

    I suspect that very few will NOT resent this.

    • #15
  16. ToryWarWriter Coolidge
    ToryWarWriter
    @ToryWarWriter

    Anyone over the rank of Colonel is pretty much bringing the quality of Italian Generals circa WW2.

    • #16
  17. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    Here is the full skinny on what is going down:

    The military leader, Lt General Honore, will be in charge of investigating the “domestic terrorists” who are members of the US Capital police.

    But it will not end there. And remember the words “White Supremacist” and domestic terrorists are synonyms for each other. However the real meaning as the PTB use these terms means those people who did not support Biden or any part of the Globalists’ plan for our nation.

    The below link might be behind a pay wall. If it is, you can instead catch the
    legislation proposed by Congressman from Calif Pete Aguillar regarding the need to “purge the White Supremacists from the military” over at his Congressional website:

    https://aguilar.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/aguilar-introduces-legislation-prevent-white-supremacists-infiltrating

    I very much enjoy RestrictedRepublic.com If you haven’t considered joining them, you might want to. (I have no connection to them other than as a subscription holder.)

    From the website RestrictedRepublic.com
    MUST SEE! Government Is ‘Purifying’ and ‘Purging’ U.S. Military – New Internal Doc EXPOSES How And Who They’re Targeting!

    https://restrictedrepublic.com/programs/honoreytrrfullmp4-26615b

     

     

    • #17
  18. HankRhody Freelance Philosopher Contributor
    HankRhody Freelance Philosopher
    @HankRhody

    They’re talking about Nidal Hassan, right?

    • #18
  19. Headedwest Coolidge
    Headedwest
    @Headedwest

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    Exactly. I don’t think very many wars have been won with a force of REMFs…

    I think that number would be approximately zero.

     

    • #19
  20. Ammo.com Member
    Ammo.com
    @ammodotcom

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    When the “warrior ethos” disappears from our Military, then why be a part of it?

    Free college.

    • #20
  21. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    CACrabtree: When I was still on active duty, I recall an Air Force general who said, “I have lived my life and led my career with the abiding belief that when each of us who wear this uniform or choose to defend this nation are called, we will do the right thing.” Now, we have military “leaders” who do not even trust those in the ranks; and, by their own actions, sew discord throughout their commands. These “leaders” are no longer capable of knowing what the “right thing” entails. Sadly, they do not belong in our military.

    I don’t know whether I find the Left more frightening or our own military.

    I suspect that it’s going to have a very negative effect on recruiting; especially those young men (and I’m not denigrating women at all) who want to go into the Combat Arms parts of our Military. They’re the warriors who truly relish being at the “tip of the spear”.

    When the “warrior ethos” disappears from our Military, then why be a part of it?

    A rotten wood haft makes a sharp tip irrelevant. 

    • #21
  22. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Ammo.com (View Comment):

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    When the “warrior ethos” disappears from our Military, then why be a part of it?

    Free college.

    Political viability. 

    • #22
  23. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    I’d be curious how they define extremism.

    From this discussion, an interesting (if true) piece of information:

    Nearly 20% of people charged in connection with the Capitol attack have some sort of military background.

    • #23
  24. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    I don’t know whether I find the Left more frightening or our own military. 

    We are seeing a merging of the two.  At least in the DOD and command levels of the military.

    • #24
  25. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    CACrabtree (View Comment):
    I suppose many college students really did believe John Kerry when he told a group of them, “…if you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq”; the implication being that military folks were just a bunch of (in Rush Limbaugh’s words) “uneducated rubes”.

    • #25
  26. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    We keep talking as if we can win a few elections and fix matters.  Probably won’t be allowed to win a national elections so things will get worse.  As long as government gets to spend the first dollar it suffers less inflation than the next guy down the line, and it is dominating everything because we let it.  Gold is good, I don’t understand bit coin. Maybe I’ll go back to bed, or read something encouraging. 

    • #26
  27. Front Seat Cat Member
    Front Seat Cat
    @FrontSeatCat

    Wow – this is really getting nuts. This asking to re-do their oath – It sounds like cult behavior, like if you join this church, you need to be re-baptized because your original baptism is void.  “Something is going on here” – paging @flicker aka Fearless Leader…..

    The Democrats were afraid of all things Trump, and his patriotic supporters – decent average people from all walks of life, as threats – he boosted and championed the military at every turn. Our adversaries were also afraid of him. That is normal, as it should be – the Democratic leadership being afraid is not normal.

    I have to wonder if they (the military) encounter the bad guys, will they be told to stand down also? Does this have anything to do with The Great Reset? I am wondering because there seems to be a bigger picture here – censoring everything – creating a fear culture – pitting people against each other for their personal views.  “Something is going on here”

    There was a reason our Founders made Freedom of Speech the First Amendment – everything else is secondary.   

    • #27
  28. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Front Seat Cat (View Comment):

    There was a reason our Founders made Freedom of Speech the First Amendment – everything else is secondary.

    Without the 2nd Amendment, the 1st Amendment is just words.

    • #28
  29. ctlaw Coolidge
    ctlaw
    @ctlaw

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):
    legislation proposed by Congressman from Calif Pete Aguillar regarding the need to “purge the White Supremacists from the military”

    What about MS-13:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20090805025050/http://stripes.com/07/feb07/gangs/ncis_gangs.pdf

     

    • #29
  30. lowtech redneck Coolidge
    lowtech redneck
    @lowtech redneck

    ctlaw (View Comment):

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):
    legislation proposed by Congressman from Calif Pete Aguillar regarding the need to “purge the White Supremacists from the military”

    What about MS-13:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20090805025050/http://stripes.com/07/feb07/gangs/ncis_gangs.pdf

     

    If they deign to include them in the purge, it will be as ‘multi-racial white supremacy’.  But that’s really only for minority conservatives, they won’t go after MS-13, as that would be ‘racist’.

    • #30
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